In computing, the recycle bin is a temporary data repository for files that have been deleted by the user, but not yet permanently erased from the physical media. Typically, a recycle bin is presented to the user as a special folder (whether or not it is actually a single folder depends on the implementation), allowing the user to browse deleted files, undelete those that were deleted by mistake, or delete them permanently (either one by one, or by the “Empty Trash” function).
Within a recycle bin folder, a record is kept for each file and/or folder's original location. On certain operating systems, files must be moved from the trash folder before they can be accessed again.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,921,082 to Atul Mukker discloses Methods and systems for recovering data utilize a command line interface of a data-processing system, run by an operating system such as Linux, Unix, DOS, Windows, Mac and the like, to recover and manage inadvertently deleted data. Desired data such as files, folders, and the like can be initially identified from a command line interface. The desired data can then be automatically saved in a memory location of the data-processing system, in response to identifying the desired data from the command line interface. The data can then be automatically recovered from the memory location of the data-processing system for display within the command line interface, if the desired data is inadvertently deleted. Additionally, a user can be permitted to specify a plurality of recycling rules presented through a graphical user interface dialog or other graphical user interface device.